Need help with 700mhz P3 performance

[Apocalypse23]

Hi everyone, im new here. I have a 700 mhz Pentium 3 processor and 256 Mb sdram pc 100. I have an intel i810e motherboard that supports a maximum of 512 mb sd ram, to which i am upgrading soon. I bought a 64 mb Geforce 4 M440 Sdram PCI card, which works fine. I want to know how i can overclock my computer. I have 100 GB of total harddrive space--a Maxtor 80 gb 7200rpm drive and a fujitsu 20 gb 5400rpm. I want to know how i can overclock and totally upgrade this computer to the maximum. I tried running Soldier of Fortune 2 on full graphics and it isn't very smooth. Is it because of my ram or my processor speed? I am confused as to how to make mey computer to run games smoothly with good graphics. I am willing to upgrade to 512 ram, however i don't know if that would improve the graphics performance. Also, how can i overclock the processor and to what maximum speed.

Thanks

 

[DaveSimmons]

Welcome to the AT forums!

Your best option is to move to a cheap AMD 1700+ - 2000+ system with DDR memory and get a used Geforce3 ti200, but the total cost would be around $200-250. You would get a huge gaming performance jump though. You'd get back some of the money by selling your existing parts.

If you want to do this use the search box and type in "budget" to find several threads on what motherboard, memory, and case to buy.

If that's out of your budget range, you might be able to run your 700 MHz processor at 933 MHz by changing the bus setting to 133 MHz. Some 700's will work at this speed, some won't. Your graphics card will still be holding you back though, it's really too slow for the newer games.

 

[Apocalypse23]

Thanks for the reply. To overclock my comp, I have to change the bus settings to 133mhz? Will that also effect my ram, because currently I use pc100 ram. And how exactly would I go about this process, does it have something to do with the motherboard's jumpers? Thanks.

 

[Eug]

Which motherboard? An Upgradeware S370GU Tualatin adapter MIGHT work. If it does, you can stick in a 1.4 GHz Tualatin Celeron, which is essentially the same thing as the old Coppermine PIII (but with die shrink) running at 1.4 GHz on a 100 MHz bus. Cheap upgrade. I'm running that setup with my old BX motherboard (using a Slot-T adapter). With a Radeon 9100 it's fast enough to do some simple gaming with Unreal Tournament 2003.

Still, your video card ain't the greatest. Do you have an AGP slot?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Depending on your motherboard, you would either change a jumper -or- go into the BIOS and change the "FSB" or "CPU ext clock" to 133. Some motherboards do not let you do either, they may only let you use the normal settings for the CPU.

You're right that your PC100 memory might not run at that speed. You might be able to get it to run by adjusting the memory timing in the BIOS (say going from "CAS 2" to "CAS 3") but this is kind of tricky and again some motherboards don't let you make timing changes.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Depending on your motherboard, you would either change a jumper -or- go into the BIOS and change the "FSB" or "CPU ext clock" to 133. Some motherboards do not let you do either, they may only let you use the normal settings for the CPU.

You're right that your PC100 memory might not run at that speed. You might be able to get it to run by adjusting the memory timing in the BIOS (say going from "CAS 2" to "CAS 3") but this is kind of tricky and again some motherboards don't let you make timing changes.

I would not even attempt this. Far too risky to run this way even if it worked, and it probably wouldn't work anyway unless that "PC100" memory was actually top tier PC125 or something.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I would not even attempt this. Far too risky to run this way even if it worked, and it probably wouldn't work anyway unless that "PC100" memory was actually top tier PC125 or something.

I agree, unfortunately the Tualatin solution is a bit of a gamble too.

If Apocalypse23 can find some really good deal on a stick of 256MB PC133 then just taking out the PC100 might be worth trying with the 700 -> 933 processor overclock.

Next most expensive is the tualatin (if his board is listed as compatible).

But the AMD upgrade is really the best solution, except for the cost.

 

[StraightPipe]

get a better vid card, but beware, your aproaching the end of your pc's life if you want to play games.
just becareful not to spend to much trying to heal a dying horse.
(I recently considered the slot-T adapeter to go from a 450P3 to a tautulon, but I decided it wouldnt be much of an improvment, my ram was already maxed at 512, and had an old 3dfx voodoo 300. I opted for a new computer and use the old one for downloading server (kazaa really eats up you pc) and word processing, storage, internet. I just linked the old and new with a router and I love my new setup.)

also if you still have most of your program disks a reformat will mk a pretty good difference in all around performance.

ram will help your load speeds and vid card/cpu upgrade will make games faster.

--welcome to the forum

 

[Apocalypse23]

Okay, I checked my BIOS, and under FREQUENCY/VOLTAGE CONTROL , I found the following:

AUTO Detect DIMM/PCI Clk : Enabled
CPU Clock/Spread Spectrum: Default
CPU Clock Ratio : x3

I can change the cpu clock ratio to a maximum of x8. I can change the CPU Clock/Spread Spectrum to 133mhz/on and 133mhz/off.

How will(if it will), changing that make my cpu faster?
As for the ram, I guess I might be able to get pc133. And no I do not have an AGP slot(unfortunately).

Thanks guys.

 

[brettjrob]

If you want to have decent gaming performance, it's probably necessary to upgrade the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video card. It seems like putting any money at all into a system like that for the purpose of gaming would be wasteful. Here's a system that will probably quadruple your gaming performance for not all that much dough:

Epox 8RDA+ (nForce2): $83
AMD Athlon XP 1700+ (Thoroughbred) $44 <--- very overclockable
256MB Crucial PC2700: $43
ATI Radeon 8500 LE 64MB: $65 <--- very good value, can still handle most games

Total: $235

This will provide much more reasonable performance in games, not to mention it will be upgradeable in the future... you can always throw in another 256MB module whenever you like to take advantage of dual-channel, and when the Athlon64 comes out and the XP prices plummet, you can stick in a high-end Barton model for under $100. Same goes for the video card (I'm assuming you don't have an AGP slot or you'd have an AGP card).

 

[Apocalypse23]

I tried changing my CPU Clock/Spread Spectrum from DEFAULT to 133mhz/on from the BIOS and rebooted my computer. In the start up screen(before windows loads) it said the CPU speed is 933mhz and not 700...but suddenly the screen went blank and didn't load windows, so I rebooted, and it still didn't work. Then I shut it off, and restarted it after around 15-20 minutes, and it seemed to work, but before letting windows load, I went to the BIOS, and changed the CPU Clock/Spread Spectrum back to 'DEFAULT'. So now im running 700mhz, as before; my FSB and BUS is set to 100mhz. I'm curious about one thing though, what exactly is the CPU CLOCK RATIO? And could someone please help me to overclock my comp step by step?

Thanks a lot.

 

[dexvx]

That means your processor cannot take 933Mhz. Either you have inadequate cooling, or the processor is an older revision and just cannot make it to 933Mhz. CPU clock ration is a multiplier, since yours is 700Mhz default, it has a 7X multiplier for 7x100 = 700Mhz. 133Mhz means its 133x 7 = 933 Mhz. Usually you only do round numbers, 66, 100, 133. You also have to make sure your ram can take 133Mhz speeds, because by overclocking the bus, you're also overclocking the ram. If there is an option, you have to set your PCI devices to 1/4 and AGP to 1/2; if there isnt then dont worry about it.

You *cannot* change the CPU clock ratio. It is locked at 7X for you, no matter what you do in the bios. Its rather a moot point in the bios, unless you have an Engineering Sample.

And geez, all this guy wants to know is to overclock his system and you guys start telling him to buy a new computer :disgust:

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

i810 chipset..Is this in a proprietary machine(EgELL, HP,Compaq) by chance?

I tried running Soldier of Fortune 2 on full graphics and it isn't very smooth. Is it because of my ram or my processor speed?

All of the above..Processor, ram, video. PCI for video cards is just outright miserable no matter what card it is.

 

[Apocalypse23]

Hmmm, so is there no way I can speed it up a lil? It COULD be because of the cooling, the bad part is, I can't seem to figure out my pc tempreture, in the PC HEALTH section of my BIOS, I can only see my fan speed. Also, in the starting screen it says I have 700mhz(100x7), but in my bios it says my clock ratio is x3, and I have the ability to change it(or so it seems). And I don't know anything about the PCI devices thing :-/ .

@Gonzo : Nah, i'm pretty sure it isnt a proprietary machine or anything.

Its an Intel Pentium IIIE, Whitney i810-ITE8712 (or i810M3) motherboard, and I have an Award Modular 6.00PG BIOS. Core Voltage is 1.6 - 1.8 V, I/O Voltage is 3.3 V

Thanks a lot for all your responses.

Originally posted by: dexvx
That means your processor cannot take 933Mhz. Either you have inadequate cooling, or the processor is an older revision and just cannot make it to 933Mhz. CPU clock ration is a multiplier, since yours is 700Mhz default, it has a 7X multiplier for 7x100 = 700Mhz. 133Mhz means its 133x 7 = 933 Mhz. Usually you only do round numbers, 66, 100, 133. You also have to make sure your ram can take 133Mhz speeds, because by overclocking the bus, you're also overclocking the ram. If there is an option, you have to set your PCI devices to 1/4 and AGP to 1/2; if there isnt then dont worry about it.

You *cannot* change the CPU clock ratio. It is locked at 7X for you, no matter what you do in the bios. Its rather a moot point in the bios, unless you have an Engineering Sample.

And geez, all this guy wants to know is to overclock his system and you guys start telling him to buy a new computer :disgust:

 

[dexvx]

^

Well then it depends on how detailed you want SOF II. You can always turn it down to crappier detail levels, and it should run fine. If you must play it at the fullest settings (and high resolution), then you need a new system, and it has to be a fairly decent system, if I recall correctly.

I'm also sorry to say that the i810 chipset isnt compatible with a Tualatin processor (even with adapter), so the highest thing you'll run is a 1Ghz Pentium III. It wont be worth it to upgrade, because it wouldnt do much anyways. Although something you should considering upgrading is that video card. Geforce4 MX440 SDRam version is relatively weak, even paired with a high end processor like the P4 or an AXP, I doubt you could play it at the highest detail settings "smoothly".

 

[Apocalypse23]

Okay, I upped the CPU Clock just by a lil, and now I have 785mhz. Everything seems to be running fine so far. I have a question, how do you modify the voltage settings? I can't seem to find it in my BIOS.

And yeah, SOF2 runs pretty smooth on normal detail, and it doesn't hurt if I set it to HIGH either. It's only when I set the graphics to VERY HIGH and fully enable my Geforce's Antiailasing and Anisotropic filtering when the gameplay starts getting jerky. Thanks

 

[TheInvincibleMustard]

Originally posted by: Apocalypse23
It's only when I set the graphics to VERY HIGH and fully enable my Geforce's Antiailasing and Anisotropic filtering when the gameplay starts getting jerky. Thanks

Err ... yep, that sounds like the way it should be. That's because that particular video card can't handle AF and (especially) AA very well at all. You'd be better off with a higher resolution and no AF/AA than with a lower resolution and enabling AF/AA.

IMHO, AF and AA on anything other than "current-generation" video cards is pure marketing hype, because you really can't use it in a real-world setting, and the "MX" line of cards is even worse than the "Ti" line, so there's that thrown into the mix as well.

HTH ...